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central nervous system
The brain and the spinal cord
peripheral nervous system
The sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body.
somatic nervous system
the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles
autonomic nervous system
the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs.
sympathetic nervous system
The division of the ANS that arouses the body, mobilizing energy
Fight-or-flight”
parasympathetic nervous system
The division of the ANS that calms the body, conserves energy
“Rest and Digest”
endocrine system
the body's "slow" chemical
communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream
hormones
chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands and travel through the bloodstream
adrenal glands
a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones like epinephrine and adrenaline that help arouse the body.
pituitary gland
the endocrine system's most influential gland. Controlled by the hypothalamus, it regulates growth and controls other glands.
pineal gland
Secretes melatonin which regulates the sleep-wake cycle
sensory (afferent neurons)
neurons that carry incoming information from the body's tissues and sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord
motor (afferent) nerons
Carry information from the brain to muscles and neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands
terminal branches
elongated ends of the axon that end in a button like structure that join the dendrites of a receiving neuron at the synapse
dendrites
a neuron's often busy, branching extensions that receive and integrate messages, conducting impulses toward the cell body
axon
the neuron extension that carries messages away from the cell body, through its branches, to other neurons or to muscles or glands
myelin sheath
a fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next
glial cells
cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; create myelin sheath
synapse
the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron.
